Seat-hinge.



No. 803,261.. PATENTED OCT. 31,1905. C. H. WOODRUFF.

SEAT HINGE.

APPLIoATIoN FILED F2123. 1904.

UNITE PATENT onirica CHARLES H. WOODRUFF, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNORTO THE A. H. ANDREWS COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OFILLINOIS.

SEAT-HINGE.

i No. 803,261.

Speccation of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 31, 1905.

Application led February 23, 1904:. Serial No. 194,913.

T0 @ZZ whom it may con/cern:

Beit known that I, CHARLES H. WOODRUFF, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and-State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Seat-Hinges, of whichthe following is a specification.

In the art to which this invention relates great difculty hashitherto-been experienced in providing a pivotal mounting for foldingseats as applied to school-desks and operachairs by reason of the factthat the lowering of the seat for use produced a harsh and disagreeablenoise and at the same time subjected the mounting to great strain andwear; and the present invention is intended to obviate this difculty andat the same time produce a mounting which is noiseless in operation andof the simplest possible construction and at the same time strong, neat,and durable.

A further object of the invention is to so construct the parts that theymay be readily and easily assembled and when assembled will not becomedisarranged or impaired by long and continued usage. It has vbeencustomary hitherto to apply rubber or leather washers or bumpers tominimize the dillculty; but such appliances have proved unsatisfactory,for the reason that they quickly wear out or become displaced after ashort time, allowing the metallic portions of the mounting to striketogether and produce a sharp rasping noise.

The invention consists in the features of construction and combinationof parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings illustrating the invention, Figure l is-an exterior faceView of the pivotal mounting as applied to a desk-seat; Fig. 2, aninterior view of the same; Fig. 3, a view of the movable section,showing its interior arrangement; Fig. A, a similar view of the iixedsection; Fig. 5, a sectional view showing the parts in operativerelation, and Fig. 6 a side view of the split ring against which theparts are adapted to contact.

Themounting of the present invention is constructed to have aseat-supporting arm A of suitable length, provided with aninwardlyextending flange a, having slots or recesses a' therein for thesecuring of a seat bottom thereto, and said arm is provided, near itsinner extremity,with a downwardly-extending diskshaped portion B, formedintegral therewith and .having an interior contact-face 6, cut or formedto leave a semicircular ledge or shoulder b at its point of jointurewith the seat-supporting arm, and said disk is provided at its centerwith a boss C, having on its lower side a cam-surface c, whichcam-surface is eccentric with respect to the curvature of the disk andoutwardly and downwardly projects toward its forward end o', as bestshown in Fig. 3. The boss is further provided with a circular recess c2at its center, and in the center of the recess is a circular opening o3for the passage therethrough of a pivot-screw of, which unites the partstogether. At the forward end of the semicircular ledge or shoulder Z2 isan abutment c5 for limiting the movement of the arm.

The movable section above described coperates with a fixed section D,which forms aV portion of the mounting for the seat and, as shown, isbroken off from the remainder of the mounting. The section D is providedwith a circular head d of a size corresponding to the circular diskhitherto described, and the circular head is adapted to fit within thespace below the semicircular shoulder Z2 and is provided with a flangeal', having a contact-face d2, adapted to abut against the acting faceof the circular disk, and said flange surrounds a recess d3, in thecenter of which is a raised boss di, which is adapted to abut againstand lie in facial contact with the recessed boss o of the companionsection, and the boss di is provided at its center with a semisphericalelevation d5, adapted to move within the curved recess 02, and throughthe elevation is a hole 0l for the passage of a pivotal screw when theparts are assembled. The circular rim or flange d' is provided on itsedge with an abutment 17, adapted to cooperate with the abutment on themovable section to limit the movement of the parts and form a firm andsecure contact when the seat is fully depressed, as shown in Fig. 1, bythe weight of the body upon the seat.

At the interior lower side of the circular flange is a socket e, andwithin the socket is located a circular spring E, having adiagonally-extending split c' in its side, and said spring is composedof steel and is adapted to be slightly compressed when pressure` isbrought to bear thereon, but has suficient resiliency to withstand alarge amount of pressure, and is adapted to prevent the contact of IOOterior of' the recess in the fixed section, and' the cam on the movablesection is so formed that when the arm and seat carried thereby areraised the cam will be out of' contact withy the split ring, but inclose enough proximity thereto to prevent its displacement from itssocket, and when the arm is lowered the camface will hear against thesplit ring, and the movement of' the arm as the seat is lowered will beprevented after it has reached the position shown in Fig. 2, in whichthe abutments are out of contact with one another; but when the weightof' the occu pant is brought to bear upon the seat the arm will bedepressed very slightly until it assumes the position shown in Fig. l,in which the abutments are in contact, thereby gradually compressing thering and bringing the abutments into easy contact with one another. Thefinal movement ofthe seat, however, will be so slight and the resistanceof the spring' so strong that no jarring or rasping noise will be heard,and at the same time the wear upon the parts will be greatly lessened bythe freedom from vibration or jarring, which vibration o'r jarring willbe entirely obviated by the presence of the springring and the slidingmovement of the cam thereonto.

Ihe circular disk on the movable section is provided on its non-actingface with a circular recess f, (best shown in Fig. 5,) within which fitsa disk F, having a rounded inner face f', and the disk, as shown, isprovided 'in its center with a square recess f2 for the insertion of' anut f3, through which passes the screw-pivot 14-, and the disk isprovided with an arm G, outwardly extending and pro- O vided on its endwith an inwardly-extendi-ng finger g, held between ears or flanges g' onthe fixed section, which arrangement prevents the screw-pivot fromturning and the nut from becoming loosened by the movement of the partswhen in use.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the parts are of thesimplest possible construction and so arranged that they can be readilyassembled and when so assembled are all held in place by a single pivotand that the spring-ring is held within its socket without additionalfastening means by the arrangement of the adjoining parts, which arerendered noiseless in their operation by the presence of the spring.

What I regard as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In aseat-hinge, the combination of fixed and movable sections pivotedtogether, the fixed section being providedwith a socket, a

split-ring' spring' fitted into the socket and held therein againsttravel with respect to the axis of the hinge, a cam on the movablesection adapted to contact with the split-ring spring when the movablesection is lowered and have its movement arrested by such contact andcooperating abutments on the fixed and movable sections for finallylimiting the movement of the movable section after the spring has beencompressed by the cam, substantially as described.

2. In a seat-hinge, `the combination of a fixed section provided with arecessed circular head, a socket located on the interior of the recessedhead, a split-ring spring located within the socket and held thereinagainst travel with respect to the axis of the hinge, and of a size topartiallyv project inwardly therefrom, an abutment on the exterior ofthe circular head, a movable section adapted to have a seat securedthereto, an abutment on the movable section adapted to contact theabutment on the fixed section when the parts are tnally depressed, adisk on the movable section recessed to leaveacircular shoulder adaptedto encircle the edge of the circular head, a boss on the disk having onone side an outwardly-projecting cam-face adapted to contact theprojecting portion of the split-ring spring when the movable section isvinitially depressed and adapted to compress the split-ring spring whenthe parts are finally depressed and the abutments brought, in contactwith one another, and a pivot passing through the two sections forsecuring them together, substantially as described.

3. In aseat-hinge, the combination of' a fixed section provided with arecessed circular head having a circular wall or fiange forming acontact-face, a socket on the inner face of' the circular wall or fiangeextending into the recess in the head, a split-ring spring locatedwithin the socket and held therein against travel with respect to theaxis of' the hinge, and of a size to partially project inwardlytherefrom, an abutment on the fixed section, a movable section providedwith an abutment adapted to contact the abutment on the fixed sectionwhen the parts are finally depressed a pivotal mountingvfor the twosections, and an outwardlyprojecting cam on themovable section adaptedto contact the projecting portion of' the split-ring spring when themovable section is initially depressed and adapted to compress the splitring spring when the parts are finally depressed to bring the twoabutments in contact with one another, substantially as described.

CHARLES H. WOODRUFF.

Witnesses:

SAMUEL W. BANNING, WALKER BANNING.

TOO

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